Special Development Zones

KAALFONTEIN EXT.1 A Regional

10. Proposed timeframes for implementation of catalytic projects and programmes 1 Central Business District

10.2 Corridors

10.2.1 Special Development Zones

As part of the City’s efforts to fast track development within the Corridors of Freedom, the City’s Development Planning Department through the Land Use Management Directorate is in the process of developing a tool which can be used in assessing development applications specific to the corridors.

30 Scale 1:35 000

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Rotunda Precinct

3 4

2 4

6 7 8 9

1 0 1 1

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1 Rotunda Park upgrade 2 De Villiers Street Linear

Park

3 Park Crescent and High Street Public Environment Upgrades

4 Gateway interventions 5 Turffontein Swimming Pool

Upgr

6 Turffontein Clinic 7 Turffontein Library 8 Cornelia Park Upgrade 9 JOSHCO Social Housing 10 Robinson Deep New

Waste Collection 11 Wembley Sports Centre

Renewal

12 Upgrading of Pioneer Park 13 Housing Development:

Moffat Park

14 Housing Development:

Rem 163/100-Turffontein

Completed projects Projects in progress Planned projects

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10.2.2 Land Strategy: Corridors of Freedom

Purpose of the strategy

The formulation of a comprehensive Land Strategy for the Corridors of Freedom is a critical requirement for the successful implementation of the Corridors. This strategy deals with the acquisition of land for a range of uses, including social and affordable housing, but also a disposal strategy that outlines how and when land assets can be disposed of to support the outcomes of the Corridors. The strategy should also outline the approach towards holding and managing the properties within the portfolio. The Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), together with the Development Planning Department, is currently working on this Land Strategy. The City has however already initiated a land acquisition process to acquire strategically located properties within the three corridors.

Land acquisition processes

Council approval has been obtained by JPC in 2014 to acquire land portions the City will need to implement various projects within the Corridors over time. This allows JPC to acquire on behalf of the City at market related values on a willing buyer / willing seller basis. The City is currently not expropriating land in the Corridors.

Properties that have been purchased are leased, demolished, maintained or secured in order to avoid them becoming illegally occupied and vandalised until such time as the properties are developed by the City.

JPC has also approached Provincial Government to acquire identified Provincially owned land (in the Empire-Perth Corridor). Province has indicated that these properties would be donated to the City.

Despite this positive reaction, it has since been discovered that some of the land portions in the process of being donated to the City already have provincial projects underway on the sites. JPC and the City are endeavouring to resolve some of these uncertainties.

Land owned by parastatals such as Transnet has also been identified for acquisition or land availability agreements, but the City has not been successful to get any support or meaningful engagement going with such entities.

Properties for acquisition

The City’s Development Planning Department has identified properties within the Strategic Area Frameworks which the JPC will be required to acquire on behalf of the City at market related values on a willing buyer / willing seller basis over the medium term (Error! Reference source not found.

shows the land identified for acquisition per Corridor)

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Figure 38: Corridors of Freedom Acquisition Targets

Louis Botha Corridor

Empire-Perth Corridor Turffontein Corridor

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Three phases of acquisition have been identified per Corridor (acquisition is also linked to budget availability per annum). The phasing relates to the City’s identification of priority precincts for implementation. For example, a precinct such as Orange Grove in the Louis Botha Corridor is targeted for a range of City interventions in the short term, which includes piloting the Special Development Zone (new zoning mechanism) and bulk infrastructure investment. Properties in Orange Grove have been targeted for Phase 1 acquisition so that the City has land holdings for development within this priority precinct. The future use of these properties will be in line with the intentions of the Strategic Area Frameworks and may include developments such as new or expanded social amenities, public spaces and social housing.

In terms of the Acquisition Strategy, properties that are underutilised and have lower property valuations are targeted. A clustering of properties is also targeted for greater impact, with consolidated sizes of 2000m² or more to improve project viability.

Implementation of the strategy

A budget of R40 000 000,00 was made available in 2014/15 and R68 000 000,00 in 2015/16 for acquisition purposes. More funding will be made available in subsequent years to ensure that the acquisition process continues. Error! Reference source not found. and Error! Reference source not found. indicate the land that has been acquired to date or where negotiations are underway.

The properties acquired are being linked to City projects – i.e. new social housing projects and/or social facilities.

A critical component of the success of the Corridors is increasing the range of housing typologies and affordability. The City is currently working on a strategy to increase the number of social and affordable housing units within the Corridors – the release of land to social housing institutions forms part of this strategy.

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Figure 40: Acquisition Status: Louis Botha Corridor

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Realising the full development potential and envisaged outcomes of the Strategic Area Framework (SAF) for Mining Belt West Development Corridor is an urban development process that will take decades to unfold. Whilst there is still work to be done with regards to overall implementation mechanisms to realise the vision of the SAF, the specific projects and proposals resulting from this exercise begin to suggest a specific range of functional requirements that must be addressed if implementation is to succeed. Broadly speaking, these can be considered in terms of the following areas:

• Project Planning

• Project Implementation

• Project Facilitation

• Urban Management

The successful development/ re-development of the mining belt will to a large degree be dependent on the extent to which all stakeholders can be brought together to properly address development issues/ constraints and to align and synchronise the phasing of development in order to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of all investments and development in the area.

City will put in place an institutional structure for the mining belt to facilitate proper communication and alignment of development among various stakeholders. The City Transformation Department should take the lead in this initiative and will act as interface between various line function departments from all three spheres of government and local private stakeholder groups. Figure 1 below represents the proposed institutional arrangement structure.

Table 31: Proposed Institutional Structure

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Members from the Inter-Governmental Forum will be responsible for a variety of public functions and investment including environmental and land use planning and management, provision of social and engineering services and infrastructure, transport, housing etc.

Local private stakeholders will form four distinct workstreams:

 Environmental to look at the demarcation rehabilitation and management of the regional open space as a collective;

 Mining which will include CRG and West Wits currently still actively mining in the areas as well as the two companies focusing on Slimes Dam/ Tailings reclamation (ERGO and Mintails);

 Developers and their respective needs, and development priorities in various parts of the mining belt; and

 Business representing all enterprises currently operating in the study area.

 As illustrated on Figure 25 engagement can be at the level of the mining belt as a whole, for a specific sub-region in the mining belt area (e.g. East, Central or

 West) or for a specific precinct/ functional area within the mining belt. The current NASREC ICT Inter Governmental Steering Committee is a good example of an initiative at the precinct level.